Google says it will unveil ‘future of gaming’ at GDC 2019

What’s Google up to?

Ever since Google announced “Project Stream” in partnership with Ubisoft, gamers everywhere have been clamoring to learn more about the company’s gaming ambitions. Today, Google announced that it would reveal what it considers to be the “future of gaming” at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 later this month. The corporation has never had a strong gaming presence in the past, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens next week. Former Ubisoft producer and Motive Studios founder Jade Raymond also just announced that she had joined Google as VP, though did not specify of what exactly. Given her background, it certainly shows Google’s commitment to the gaming cause.

There are a lot of rumors floating around as to what this may entail. For example, the company may only announce its streaming service and a launch date. However, many analysts are expecting dedicated hardware, like a dongle that plugs into your display and allows you to stream games. Lastly, there are even stranger rumors out there that Google will get into the hardware market by revealing an ultra-powerful console. Take all of these with a grain of salt until official confirmation.

We’ll have to wait until March 19 For Google’s event to find out. There are already a lot of streaming services available on PC like Rainway and Shadow which allow gamers to access their titles across a variety of platforms. Many of these are also coming to Android and iOS. Google will have to blow all of these services out of the water if it is to succeed. Additionally, if a console is revealed, there are even more challenges to contend with. It likely has to be more powerful than the Xbox One X and offer a better catalog.

You need compelling games and a lot of studios making these titles to attract users to a new platform. You also need the support of major third-party publishers. Since EA is working on similar technology, we don’t know how that will happen. It’s unclear if Google has all of these at the moment. Lastly, the controller has to be comfortable and a tool gamers actually want to use; it has to be better than what Astro, Microsoft, and Razer offer, for example. In other words, Google would have a lot to prove.